-- The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies executed a search warrant at a home on Kathleen Avenue recently leading to the arrest of a Cantonment man on drug and firearm charges 37-year-old Joseph Ryan Koone was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon The search warrant was part of an ongoing narcotics investigation An arrest report states a search of the property revealed a quantity of drugs and firearms Koone reportedly told deputies that he lives at the residence sharing it with his girlfriend and her son He claimed to work at a mobile phone repair shop and sell sneakers He admitted to possessing and selling THC cartridges and knowledge of the firearms found in the house Koone also told deputies that he found the marijuana Koone was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $32,500 bond A project proposal to Escambia County shows that World Gym is looking to expand with a bigger-and-better Cantonment facility down the street from their current location in the area Developers want to use an undeveloped 18.8-acre parcel off U.S. Highway 29 to build a 30,000-square-foot commercial building that’ll house the new World Gym Cantonment along with two lease spaces A parking lot with 103 spots is proposed as part the project too The project was filed with the county on Feb 26 and it isn’t scheduled for review by the Development Review Committee (DRC) at this time If World Gym’s proposal is approved by the DRC motorists will be able to enter the gym’s parking lot using either U.S Those are the only access roads planned for the commercial building at this stage of developers’ plans YMCA gets major remodel: Gulf Breeze YMCA reopens after months-long renovations. Here's what members will see. World Gym is an international chain with locations across the globe 24/7 access and more amenities for members World Gym has two local locations open in Escambia County right now The facility closest to the proposed gym is World Gym Cantonment at 110 S while World Gym Pensacola is open at 7166 N it’s unclear whether World Gym Cantonment will move into the new facility entirely or if the brand plans to operate out of both gyms The electricity supply to the entire cantonment area was suspended and the vehicular movement halted for 30 minutes beginning 9 pm as the Ferozepur Cantonment Board conducted a mock drill on Sunday that lasted for thirty minutes This comes amid rising India-Pakistan tension in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack The drill is a safety and emergency preparedness measure deputy commissioner-cum-district magistrate Deepshikha Sharma asked residents in the vicinity not to panic clarifying that the temporary blackout was part of a routine safety preparedness exercise by the security forces The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) disconnected the power supply for 30 minutes continuing throughout the drill while police parties remained alert on roads Residents within the 10-km radius were asked by Vikas Johns chief executive officer of the cantonment board to keep their private power generators and inverters switched off to ensure the effectiveness of the exercise The drill is a safety and emergency preparedness measure The area under the Ferozepur Cantonment Board includes a population of around 60,000 in addition to army personnel stationed in the area and their families The area saw such an exercise in December 2001 and January 2002 following the Parliament attack on December 13 Paper Park is located in Cantonment at the former International Paper Golf Course a walking path and a pavilion with picnic tables seeing children laughing on the playground and being able to enjoy that," said Whitney Fike with International Paper "And seeing folks walk on the walking track and playing disc golf I mean that truly brings a smile to our face everyday To be able to hear that across the street and know that our community members are really enjoying it and will continue to enjoy this area." Paper Park is open from sunrise to sunset each day Horton has submitted an application to develop a 400-home subdivision in Cantonment The plan has already sparked a lot of discussion before a public hearing has even been held The entire process is still in its preliminary phases Primary concerns include infrastructure strains Developers want to call the subdivision the "McKenzie Estates." It sits on the east side of Highway 95A in the 800 block of McKenzie Road "They don't understand that people out here we only have one way in and out of here unless you're going to go way up north of here to Quintet Road," said resident Norma Barnes "But no one is going to want to go that way They're going to want to go south because they're going to want to go to Pensacola We don't have no Walmarts or big roads." One of the main concerns for residents is strains on infrastructure "Where my road comes out on Neal Road on Highway 29 there's not even a red light there," Barnes said "And we've already had the little lady that worked at the dollar store there got killed And the speed limit right before you get to the turn lane on Neal Road it raises the speed to 65 and it's a cross road." the subdivision would sit on nearly 200 acres and be developed in three phases The plans call for "future development," but that's not defined this is the line," Thomas Boatwright said with streams and some wetlands that runs right through the middle of the property That would require special evaluation in the development phase "I think there needs to be a study probably done on that," resident Randy Bane said "If FWP constantly has officers up on that river biologists that are up there studying and spending taxpayers money looking at these animals and these fish are protected if it's important enough to do studies on it it's probably important enough to do studies on how this runoff would impact them." Also on the property is a Florida Power and Light easement and a county-maintained stormwater facility it rained 22 inches," a resident said that particular road affected not just McKenzie Road So when you're talking about escape roads to get out of here that really affected almost every way of getting out of here Only thing we're focused on right now is McKenzie Road but even that by itself is going to be detrimental when you start adding more and more people in there and people want to get out Horton also just developed single family homes a mile away called "The Sanctuary." It's still under development there will be 269 homes on nearly 80 acres That would mean a total of nearly 700 homes just off Highway 95A if all these plans are approved -- A Cantonment man is in jail after a report of an alleged shooting incident where he attacked a woman with a rifle on Wednesday night 38-year-old Matthew Kyle Williams was charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon He is currently being held without bond at the Escambia County Jail Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call at the intersection of East Kingsfield Road and Tate Road in Cantonment sobbing and very distraught in the middle of the intersection The woman told deputies she had been assaulted at a home on Tate Road She reportedly said that williams hit her in the head with the butt of a rifle before shooting it in her direction several times Deputies found Williams inside the house -- along with an AR-15 rifle with the safety off They also found five shell casings inside the house Witnesses told deputies that Williams had fired the rifle Williams denies firing the shots and hitting the victim Williams is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon He's being held in the Escambia County jail without bond Parade entrees will start lining up at 3 p.m This is the 18th year Cantonment is holding the parade -- A motorbike rider sustained serious injuries in a collision with a vehicle Monday night in Cantonment The injured rider was airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to a hospital in Pensacola An update on their condition was not available at the time of reporting FHP is continuing its investigation into the incident -- A Cantonment hardware store owner says people are taking her products She’s now going on social media as a way to find them Owner Amy Jasso says thieves hit the Cantonment Ace Hardware store three times in the last month She went to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and wants the community’s help The store gave surveillance video to WEAR News Their faces are blurred since the individuals have not been arrested or charged with any crime "We had a woman come straight in and take YETIs and wave at our cashier on the way out," Jasso said "...We had a man just put tools up his sweatshirt." we had a woman steal 50 packs of Pokémon cards," she says posting videos of the incidents to get help from the community to identify them 'That's my neighbor' or 'That guy cuts my yard,'" Jasso said 'That man has worked for me for 25 years I'm embarrassed he's wearing my shirt.'" “You're just taking away from my family," she said "You're taking away from my employees Jasso says people have taken things from her store in the past "It's exhausting," she said "It's not fair to the people who are paying and they get mad because they're like she's beefing up security in her Cantonment store and her new store that's opening on Scenic Highway in December If you know anything about these incidents you’re asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Or you can call Crime Stoppers for an anonymous tip -- A SUV fire erupted outside a Dollar General store in Cantonment on Tuesday night The incident occurred in the parking area on the side of the Dollar General located at 1429 South Highway 29 at Tate School Road Escambia Fire Rescue responded promptly to the scene and managed to bring the blaze under control swiftly and the building itself sustained no major damage there is no immediate word on what caused the fire -- The owner of Hattie Marie’s Café in Cantonment has passed away The café released this statement about Hattie McGary: The restaurant will be closed for the next three weeks before reopening on Sunday WEAR News previously reported on McGary and her café McGary worked in food service at schools in Escambia County for 36 years -- A 20-year-old Cantonment motorcyclist was killed in a crash Monday afternoon on Highway 29 in Escambia County the motorcyclist was driving north on Highway 29 when he crashed with an SUV driving east This caused the SUV to then hit a sedan that was stopped at a stop sign facing west on Tate School Road EMS pronounced the motorcyclist dead on scene The SUV driver -- a 72-year-old Cantonment woman -- suffered serious injuries while the sedan driver -- a 59-year-old Molino woman -- was not injured Four residential development projects were approved by Escambia County’s Development Review Committee (DRC) in August that will add over 750 residential units across the northern half of the county Two of the projects will take place in Northwest Pensacola one will take place in Ferry Pass and another will take place in Cantonment Ransley Station a multi-pronged project that includes residential and commercial development taking place off of Pine Forest Road will get new apartment units after plans for the Flats at Ransley project were approved Here’s what to know about the residential development projects that were approved by the DRC in August: July's approved residential projects: Ensley, Perdido Key to get more residences after pair of projects OK'd in July The master plans for the Bella Terra project were approved to create 440 single-family lots on 131 acres of land off of U.S The project will be carried out in three phases according to its development order from Escambia County phase two will consist of 174 lots and the final 139 lots will be created during phase three Site plans show that a few new roads will be created for the subdivision including Bella Terra Way and Spruce Hollow Way and it will be connected to the existing Knollwood subdivision as well as U.S Developers have sought the DRC’s approval for these plans since the beginning of this year as they filed their initial set of plans in January They were issued a development order from the county on Aug DP Developers of Northwest Florida is the listed developer of the project in its site plans filed with the county Guidy Lane TownhomesThe construction plans and preliminary plat for the Guidy Lane Townhomes project were approved by the DRC to create a 20-unit townhome development in Ferry Pass This development will take place off of Guidy Lane and will use a 2-acre parcel for the project One new road will be created for the townhomes and it will be named Ona Lane according to the project’s site plan filed with the county The developers behind the Guidy Lane Townhomes project initially filed their plans with the county in 2022 and they were approved on Aug The final plat for phase three of the Kaheeley Ridge project was approved by the county on Aug. 21 to turn a 2.95-acre site in Beulah into 11 single-family residential lots. The preliminary plat for phase three was approved by the DRC in May The subdivision will connect to Isaac’s Lane and the project was initially filed with Escambia County on Jan Horton is the listed developer of the project in its site plan filed with Escambia County Northwest Pensacola is set to get a new multifamily apartment complex after the DRC approved the Flats at Ransley project in August Developers plan to build the complex off of Ransley Station Boulevard and across from the existing apartments They proposed building will have 294 apartment units a clubhouse and over 400 parking spaces for the complex according to the project’s site plan filed with Escambia County The Flats at Ransley will have an access road onto Ransley Station Boulevard and Boesch Lane respectively once construction is finished The Flats at Ransley project was approved by the DRC on Aug almost a year after its developers initially filed their proposal last November -- Two people were injured in a crash involving a van and an ECUA sanitation truck Tuesday afternoon in Cantonment on South Highway 97 near Sawyers Ridge Road A van operated by a mobile pet grooming business overturned after colliding with an Emerald Coast Utilities Authority truck The van came to rest on its side on Highway 97 while the ECUA driver moved the truck to Sawyers Ridge Road Escambia County EMS transported two people from the van The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the incident and has not yet released the cause of the crash -- A 66-year-old Cantonment man was arrested on charges of assault and battery on Monday after pointing a handgun at multiple people ranging from the ages of 63 to 74 and making death threats The report states David Arnette entered a residence and angrily threw down power tools Victims of the incident stated that when they tried to calm Arnette down He also pushed one of the victims to the ground Arnette is currently being held in Escambia County Jail with no bond on charges of: A group of Pensacola-area developers are trying to create a food truck court alongside Magnolia’s Coffee & Soda Shop in Cantonment Their proposal to Escambia County seeks to add two food trucks to the existing 0.8-acre lot on the corner of Archer Road and State Road 95 the lot will get picnic tables for outdoor seating and a new gravel road for motorists to use while navigating the area DKJ Real Properties LLC is the listed owner of the project in its documents filed with Escambia County and purchased the land of the proposed site in 2020 for $170,000 The names of potential businesses for the Archer Food Truck Court proposal are not available yet Developers declined to comment on the project Ensley food truck court proposal: 4 food trucks and a drive-thru coffee shop planned for North Palafox Street DKJ Real Properties has been trying to develop the property for three years but began focusing on making a food truck court last year Their initial proposal in October 2021 sought to build a retail center with eight units available for use Developers moved on with a new proposal in June 2023 that planned to put four food trucks on the lot along with a drive-thru coffee truck they filed a new proposal that scaled down the number of food trucks to two spots Their latest set of plans were filed with Escambia County on Sept 10 and the proposal will be reviewed by the Development Review Committee on Sept -- A man is dead after being hit by a train on Monday afternoon in the Cantonment area the Escambia County Sheriff's Office says The southbound train hit a man between Archer and Old Chemstrand roads around 4:20 p.m the train blocked the Old Chemstrand crossing after it came to a stop The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating They say traffic congestion will continue in the area -- A 23-year-old Pensacola man riding a motorcycle was seriously injured in an accident in Cantonment on Friday night Florida Highway Patrol says around 8:20 p.m the motorcyclist was traveling north on Tate Road as a sedan carrying five Pensacola teens were traveling south He didn't have on his headlights while in a dark area The driver of the sedan -- a 16-year-old girl -- turned left onto Pompano Road when the motorcyclist hit the right side of her vehicle The motorcyclist was taken to Sacred Heart with serious The 16-year-old sedan driver and her 15-year-old passengers were not injured FHP says the motorcyclist was cited for driving on a suspended license -- A food giveaway is set for Saturday at Carver Park in Cantonment The giveaway is hosted by Justified Ministries with help from the Canton Improvement Committee -- A 27-year-old Cantonment man is facing a series of drug-related charges following a traffic stop in Escambia County William Austin Thomann was charged with several offenses including: An Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputy attempted to stop Thomann on Pensacola Boulevard for speeding and having no license plate on his motorcycle Thomann ran stop signs and increased his speed prompting the deputy to back off the pursuit Deputies later found the stalled motorcycle on Hansen Boulevard where Thomann abandoned the bike and fled on foot two prescription bags of marijuana weighing 3.5 grams each additional bags and containers of marijuana and a blue powder that field-tested positive for methamphetamine with fentanyl Thomann remains in the Escambia County Jail after his bond was revoked in connection with an open weapon and drug possession case from last year In the times when negativity is becoming a USP in the news business Awaz -The Voice (www.awazthevoice.in) has been bringing out positive stories of human resilience We believe that across the fault-lines of faith, caste, region and language, many of our common concerns, shared challenges, and visions for the future, hold a lot of potential for bringing people and communities together. Read More Escambia County is moving forward with plans to build a new community center at Carver Park in Cantonment The plan is to break ground within the next several months on a 3,200-square foot, pre-manufactured modular building, like one recently built at Ashton-Brosnaham Athletic Park that will accommodate a dividable meeting room The plan also calls for improved stormwater drainage for the park and a parking lot to accommodate more people who represents the district where the new facility is being built says the county will also equip the building with state-of-the-art fixtures furnishings and equipment to help the Cantonment Improvement Committee (CIC) and other volunteers who spearhead outreach projects in the impoverished area reach more people with various services Currently the CIC works out of the Carver Park Resource Center a small trailer provided by the county that offers space and computers for after-school and summer programs and monthly opportunities for residents to meet with legal aid “The building's going to be outfitted to the nines,” Barry said “The Cantonment Improvement Committee has done wonders out of a very small 680-square-foot repurposed building from after the oil spill that we opened in the mid-2010s and they've done wonders out there for their community.” Members of the Cantonment Improvement Committee are appreciative of the new facility but say the plans are not exactly what they have been fighting for since the organization launched 12 years ago Like many other members of the volunteer group he grew up in Cantonment and wants to see the area grow and thrive Ripley says they need more than what the county is offering to affect the change they want to see They want a smaller version of the Marie K Young Wedgewood Community Center in Pensacola The center is at the heart of the Wedgewood neighborhood and offers an indoor gym meeting rooms and other amenities where people of all ages meet regularly for classes “We are appreciative of what they're going to do but it's not what we expected or what we wanted,” Ripley explained “The size and what they're offering and what we asked for is the big difference We really wanted a full center with all of the amenities that we could possibly get an inside gym that would accommodate our kids so they can have the same exposure to amenities clubs they can be involved in and exposed to a better life and help shape them to be productive citizens versus just having an outdoor court that would not have a whole lot going on.” The CIC members say they would also like to have a larger building so they can offer more comprehensive services for people closer to home seniors and other adults lack transportation and the closest Escambia County Area Transit comes is U.S The CIC says many folks simply are unable to walk that far to reach the bus that could take them to a library Would bigger would be better? Cantonment Community Center funding falls short, hope remains The CIC agrees the new building at Carver Park will be an improvement but it’s not the catalyst for community connection they want because of the smaller size and its location which is not on a main road or central to the growing area Josh Womack is a founding member of the CIC He points out that in 2014 Escambia County adopted the Cantonment Redevelopment Plan which identified the community’s top priorities for the area Those priorities included job training programs “There is an outcry in the Cantonment community for a center to serve a number of purposes,” the report reads “The majority of the citizens agree that a community center could house the majority Escambia County signed a 30-year land lease with the Escambia County School Board “for the purpose of constructing and occupying a structure to be used exclusively as a community center” on about 2 acres of land at 648 Muscogee Road where the old Ransom Middle School used to be the terms of the lease say the agreement will expire if work developing or operating the center isn’t started or finished within a certain amount of time the lease will terminate with the county if the first phase doesn’t get underway within seven and a half years from the date the lease was signed Barry says the project wasn’t pursued on the property because the money wasn’t there to support it “It's difficult to go out and raise millions and millions of dollars That's a difficult endeavor for any nonprofit,” Barry said “I'd be of the opinion we keep the (lease) agreement in place and if we have a windfall type grant or a windfall type opportunity to put a 10,000 square foot building there so I'd like to keep the opportunity for that available.” Due to the lack of adequate funds for a larger building Barry said last year Escambia County set aside $1.6 million in RESTORE funding for the modular unit that will become the Cantonment Community Center but says local leaders were not supportive of the CIC’s fundraising efforts when they applied for grants and tried to raise money to build a larger center on the Muscogee Road property Community connection wanted: Cantonment Improvement Committee advocates for a multi-use community center | PHOTOS “I don't like it at all because we've been working for 12 years up here in the community with nothing and for our elected officials to know we've been doing it without nothing “They've had the paperwork since 2012 saying this is a blighted area What have our elected officials really done up here to alleviate that?” Barry said the county has cooperated with the CIC including spending $4 million to $5 million on transportation and drainage projects in and around Carver Park ahead of the community center project but that the nonprofit simply wasn’t able to come up with enough money to pursue a bigger center Michelle Salzman asked legislators to fund $3.5 million for a new community center while Barry committed another $500,000 to bring the project to life the state funding request was denied and was not resubmitted The Cantonment Rotary Club has supported the CICs efforts to raise money for a new larger community center on the Muscogee Road property for several years Rotarian Ray Ascherfeld has been part of the effort He said they worked with the same architect that designed the Wedgewood Community Center to design a smaller but the money didn't come through to fund the entire project “We brought that up to the state and tried to go through there to get them to give some money for it I guess Steven Barry decided they were going to do the modular thing in there We're appreciative of anything the county wants to do but it could be a whole lot better if it were put together a little more concisely.” Barry said he is excited to see the new community center in Cantonment saying it will be a building neighbors can be proud of People who live near Carver Park are glad to see how far the area has come thanks to efforts by the CIC and the county to clean it up Ripley says regardless of what building they use the CIC will continue to reach out to the vulnerable in their community with weekly food drives and other services “We appreciate what they are doing and hopefully in the future it would be something better,” Ripley said -- A Cantonment man was arrested on Saturday afternoon for allegedly shooting his brother near Quintette Road according to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office claimed he shot his brother to intervene in an altercation where the brother was allegedly hitting their mother who sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen was transported to a Pensacola hospital in critical condition Horace Brown junior was charged with attempted second-degree murder He is currently being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond According to North Escambia.com an arrest report said Brown was in a recording studio behind the family's home when he heard his mother and brother having an argument He said his brother has a history of mental illness with violent outbursts According to the report their mother never was in fear for her life and told Brown not to shoot India: A complete blackout rehearsal was conducted on Sunday at the Indian Army’s cantonment in Punjab’s Ferozepur for half an hour in view of the “prevailing war threats” amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the recent terrorist attacks in Pahalgam total darkness was maintained by switching off all visible lights from 9 pm for 30 minutes Authorities directed residents that no inverter or generator lights are visible outside their homes during this period A letter from the cantonment authorities to the Deputy Commissioner in Ferozepur mentioned that the rehearsal is intended to ensure preparedness and effectiveness in implementing blackout procedures amid “prevailing war threats” The cantonment authorities made a loudspeaker announcement ahead of the drill informing residents about the measures involved in the blackout drill The mock drill comes as India sharpens its response to the April 22 terrorist attack There has been speculation about the possibility of a military strike against Pakistan although no official statement has been made yet and website in this browser for the next time I comment -- A 70-year-old Cantonment man is charged with sexually assaulting and molesting a five-year-old female family member The report states the victim is a 5-year-old girl Enfinger first admitted the crimes to his family after getting caught The report states he "described his soul as dead and how easy it is to fall into 'Satan's web.'" He also asked them for forgiveness and not to report him to police Enfinger confessed to all the allegations when interviewed by deputies on Nov 18 He is being held in Escambia County Jail without bond A 17-year-old Cantonment teen died Monday night in a single vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 29. The crash occurred around 11:45 p.m. when the teen, who was driving a Toyota SUV south of Tate Road, ran off the road, according to Florida Highway Patrol. "The vehicle then crossed the center median and northbound lanes of travel before colliding with a ditch along the eastern shoulder," an FHP report said FHP said the teen was pronounced dead on scene FHP did not release further details surrounding how the accident occurred Escambia County’s Development Review Committee (DRC) approved a handful of residential development projects Two of the four approved projects are set for development at sites off of Nine Mile Road while the remaining projects are planned for Brent and Cantonment The DRC only had development review meetings for three weeks in November with the final week cancelled due to Thanksgiving Here’s a list of the residential development projects they approved in that span October's list of approvals: Escambia County greenlit plans for 6 projects in October that will add nearly 500 homes Cottages at Bella Terra – Hillock DriveAt the beginning of the month the DRC approved a proposal named Cottages at Bella Terra to develop a 130-lot subdivision that’s planned to consist of single-family homes The subdivision is planned for construction in Cantonment at a site off of Hillock Drive that’s about 40 acres according to the project’s approved set of site plans The same document shows that five new roads will be created as part of the project and that developers will extend Ridge Way The new roads within Cottages at Bella Terra will be called Magnolia Grove Court Serenity Springs Drive and Sunset Ridge Court The county received the Cottages at Bella Terra proposal in April and approved the proposal’s plans on Nov Fallschase at Pathstone Phase 3 – Nine Mile RoadPhase three of the Fallschase at Pathstone project got the greenlight from the DRC in November to develop an additional 86 lots for single-family homes using about 25.5 acres of land off of Interstate 10 and West Nine Mile Road The Fallschase at Pathstone Master Plan was updated and re-approved by the DRC in 2022 to develop a subdivision in northwest Pensacola with more than 200 single-family lots across four phases The third phase was initially planned to hold 88 lots but developers resubmitted their adjusted plans in January that reduced that number by two lots Escambia County’s DRC approved their resubmittal 10 months later on Nov Glenhollow Phase 2 – Beulah Church RoadThe second phase of development in the Glenhollow subdivision project for Beulah was approved by the DRC in its last November meeting This phase will add 38 lots to the developing subdivision using about 11 acres of land on Beulah Church Road and Angel Oaks Drive Developers were approved to create 100 lots total by the DRC in 2022 They filed their plans for phase two of the project last September and received approval more than a year later on Nov Brent is still the planned destination for a new single-family home subdivision named Hancock Meadows but the developers behind the project adjusted their plans a bit The Hancock Meadows project got approved by the DRC in late October to develop a 34-lot subdivision but developers adjusted their plans and reduced the lot count by one They resubmitted their proposal on the first day of November and got approved again five days later on Nov This project was initially filed with Escambia County in February and developers submitted their approved preliminary plat plan in October -- A 50-year-old Cantonment man was sentenced to 25 years in state prison for molesting children in his custody for a period of seven years A judge also sentenced Nathan Toms to lifetime sex offender probation He's designated as a Sexual Predator as well The State Attorney's Office says Toms was sentenced after entering a plea straight up to the court on four counts of Sexual Battery by a Person in Familial Authority "This investigation arose from a report that Toms had inappropriately touched minor children that were in his custody," a release states "The alleged abuse took place between 2016 and 2023." Toms was arrested in Escambia County last December. His arrest report stated that one of the children said they felt they had to oblige to Toms because they "did not want to upset the family dynamic," adding that the family "relied on Nathan financially." “Nathan Toms manipulated the victims and their family to gain trust and access to the victims," Prosecuting attorney Carrie Gilmer said "Hopefully this sentence will bring some much-needed closure to the victims.” Escambia County’s Development Review Committee approved four residential development projects throughout March that will add 120 single-family homes and multi-family residences with about 390 units to the county altogether Two of the approved proposals received development orders while the remaining projects were issued final plat approval Here are the residential projects that were approved in March to move forward with development across Escambia County Escambia's February approvals: 250+ new homes coming to Escambia after February approvals Five lots for waterfront single-family homes will be developed in southwest Escambia County as part of the Gulf Beach Highway minor subdivision project after it was approved by the DRC at the beginning of March The incoming lots will be developed on a 1.57-acre site located at 10605 Gulf Beach Highway in front of Big Lagoon according to the project’s development order Site plans show that the lots will range from 0.29 acres up to 0.36 acres and that they’ll each have access onto Gulf Beach Highway bought two parcels of land for $1.2 million in April 2023 that’ll serve as the site of this minor subdivision Escambia County’s DRC approved final plat plans for the second phase of the Iron Rock subdivision project this month which is adding 62 single-family lots for future homes to the Cantonment area The new lots in this phase were developed on Mount Laurel Trail and have access onto West Kingsfield Road DRC officials approved the Navy Crossing proposal in their final meeting of the month now the project is set to add almost 400 housing units to the southwest part of Escambia County 68V Navy Crossing Holding LLC is the owner of the project and they’re also the owner of the land where the future homes are set for development They bought the approximately 74-acre parcel in 2022 for $2,906,667 Nine apartment buildings and 22 buildings for townhomes will be developed as part of the project which will add 390 units across the community Developers initially proposed this project to Escambia County in May last year and it was approved on March 26 The final plat plans for the third phase of the Sanctuary residential development project were approved by the DRC at the end of March and now its developers The project developed 53 single-family residential lots out of an approximately 17-acre parcel off of Coweta Road in Cantonment The Development Review Committee (DRC) approved seven residential development projects including five new projects that will bring over 250 new homes to Escambia County Minor subdivisions comprised most of the the DRC’s residential development approvals in February Most of the projects approved in February are set for development in the northern half of Escambia County in areas like Cantonment but there’s one major project set for southwest Pensacola Here’s which residential development projects were given the green light by the DRC in February DRC January approvals: Escambia County approves two projects to develop 90 homes in Beulah The final plat plans for the second phase of the Carrington Valley project was approved by the DRC midway through February developers were approved to turn a 17-acre parcel into a subdivision with 82 single-family residential lots During the final plat process DRC officials ensure that the development aligns with county and state codes review as-built drawings to see whether developers strayed from their initially approved plans and more administrative-like checks Chemstrand minor subdivision −2300 Blk Old Chemstrand RoadThe DRC issued a development order for a minor subdivision project planning to turn a 2.11-acre site into five single-family residential lots in Cantonment The lots will range between 0.3 acres to 0.5 acres in size and will be located on the corner of Hidden Terrace Drive and Old Chemstrand Road Each of the homes will front the latter road once developed Developers applied to build the Chemstrand minor subdivision in January and the project was approved by the county on Feb The preliminary plat drawings for the Davis Run subdivision project were approved by Escambia’s DRC in February The project plans to turn an almost 54-acre site into a subdivision with 179 multi-family lots and 17 single-family lots for a total of 196 future residential lots The subdivision will be built off of Gulf Beach Highway from Dog Track Road to Wade Avenue The two existing roads will be connected by a pair of new roads named Alva Street and Streamsong Drive Developers applied to the DRC for approval of this project last March It was issued a development order almost a year later on Feb This project is owned by Sine Qua Non Holdings New homes are planned in Ensley as part of the Huckleberry minor subdivision which Escambia’s DRC approved to develop five single-family residential lots on the corner of Huckleberry Lane and McKinnon Lane Developers want to use an approximately 1.08-acre site to develop the homes Four of the lots will have about 0.13 acres while the biggest lot will have approximately 0.48 acres to itself No new roads are planned as part of this project is the owner of the Huckleberry minor subdivision project according to the proposal’s approved set of site plans Escambia County property records show that Dinger Development bought the land where the future homes will stand in for $80k in 2019 Developers applied to build the subdivision in October and it was issued a development order from the DRC at its Feb Molino is set to receive new single-family homes in the future following the DRC’s approval of the Maple Farms minor subdivision Developers were approved to split an undeveloped 40-acre lot into four different parcels that’ll range in size from about 8.7 acres to 13.4 acres They applied to build Maple Farms minor subdivision at the beginning of January and the project was issued a development order from the DRC on Feb A pair of local residents bought the parcel for $480k in May Escambia’s DRC approved the O’Daley project to turn an approximately 3-acre parcel in Cantonment into four single-family lots while the remaining lot will have 2.25 acres The homes intended for the smaller lots are planned to have 2,000 square feet each while the home on the largest lot will have 3,000 square feet with a pool Each lot will have a driveway that connects to Muscogee Road Harold Daley with O’Daley Investment Properties who own the parcel where the minor subdivision will stand filed this project with the county in September and the project was approved on Feb Piper’s Landing resubmittal – 2683 Stratford RoadEscambia’s DRC issued an updated development order for the Piper’s Landing project which is planning to develop 64 lots for future single-family homes in Northwest Pensacola the project was slated to develop 58 single-family lots on Chellie Road using a 22.7-acre parcel but the latest development order for the project amends the intended number of lots from 58 to 64 LLC are the listed owners of the project in its latest set of approved site plans The DRC approved the project’s preliminary plans during their last meeting of February which was about six months after developers initially applied for approval in September The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee is working to build a new worship facility in Cantonment one of which will be on asphalt while the other will be on grass Developers plan to build the family life center using a 12.25-acre site of undeveloped land off of U.S. Highway 29. Site plans show that the proposed location of the facility is 1051 Pinoak Lane This project was reviewed by the county’s Development Review Committee on Wednesday after its plans were initially filed on Aug Florida Highway Patrol says a 14-year-old Cantonment boy was hospitalized with critical injuries Wednesday night after a rollover crash The crash between a van and a pickup truck occurred in the westbound lane of Interstate 10 near mile marker 9 in Escambia County At least one of the vehicles rolled over after the collision and everyone in the van sustained minor injuries except the 14-year-old boy While everyone in the van was wearing a seatbelt FHP was unable to determine at this time if the 14-year-old was wearing a seatbelt An investigation is ongoing and FHP did not provide a reason the crash occurred A 62-year-old Cantonment man died in a fiery crash in Santa Rosa County Tuesday morning Florida Highway Patrol responded to Interstate 10 near mile marker 39 just before 4 a.m to a call for service after the man's SUV left the roadway "Vehicle 1 left the roadway and entered the south shoulder," an FHP release said After the 62-year-old drove into trees just off the interstate FHP said the vehicle "burst into flames," killing the driver FHP did not release information regarding the reason the man drove off the roadway Deputies arrested Dennis Herrera for the second-degree murder of a 40-year-old man who may have been his roommate "We know they knew each other," department spokesperson Morgan Lewis told the News Journal "I don't know if they were currently roommates Murder trial gearing up: Did NAS Pensacola chief petty officer kill husband in self-defense? Jury to decide. Lewis said deputies arrived to the 8700 block of Rebel Acres Lane around 10 p.m when they discovered the 40-year-old man dead from apparent gunshot wounds Investigators believe there was some type of argument prior to the shooting Herrera is held in Escambia County Jail without bond and a case in the Office of the State Attorney's system does not appear as of Monday morning -- A Cantonment man is critically injured after a crash on US Highway 29 north of Tate School Road Wednesday The 41-year-old man was driving a motorcycle traveling north on US Highway 29 where a 77-year-old Pensacola woman driving a sedan was exiting to go south on US Highway 29 FHP says the motorcycle collided with the sedan The man was transported by helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital with critical injuries